Belle-mère (2/2)

"I joined the Marines when I was 15, around the same age as you are now," Belle-mère said with a reminiscent look. "From there I worked my way up from a reliable member of Marine Branch 143 to the Captain with loads more authority and privilege. It only took me six years to climb the ranks and because of that, many held me in high regards, some even going as far to say that if I continued to get stronger I could go even higher in the future. I was at an all time high."

Belle-mère picked up a half full bottle of alcohol and took a swig, the burning liquid tumbling down her throat. The memory of the good ol' days was painful to bring up, numbing her senses was the best she could do to recover and keep going. After putting the bottle back onto the table, she focused her eyes once again on the young man in front of her.

"As a Captain of Branch 143, I had only a few islands that I was set to patrol and look after along with coordinating with the other Branches in case they needed my assistance. This was how I got summoned to Oykot Kingdom, an emergency request sent from a fellow Branch. As I was close to the particular area, I decided to take part in whatever my fellow Marines had gotten themselves involved with."

Belle-mère paused for a second to collect her thoughts. After about a minute, Mako finally spoke up. "What happened out there? Did you manage to find out what was going on?"

Belle-mère gave a sad smile. "It was a trap. A strong group of pirates had completely obliterated a whole ship of Marine soldiers and captured the current Captain, forcing him to make an emergency summons. Once we arrived, we were summarily ambushed, half of our forces were brought down before we even registered what had happened. To put it simply, we were f*cked. Obviously I survived, but I suffered from broken ribs, stab wounds, and a concussion. To be quite honest, at the time I didn't mind dying. In fact I had welcomed it."

The pirates had killed every member that had been with her on the ship, leaving only her alive. According to one of the pirates, they left her alive so she could spread the word about how strong the group was. Left alone in the village that had been plundered and set on fire, Belle-mère had accepted death and was ready to accept it with open arms. That was when she met her daughters, the lights at the end of the long, dark and bloody tunnel.

"Needless to say, I met my daughters in the burning husk of a town." Belle-mère leaned back in her seat as she recalled the memory. "My will to live was rekindled once again. My daughters became my sole reason for moving forward. With a whole ship of crewmates killed I no longer felt that I had any right to be a Marine. My mistakes couldn't be forgiven in my opinion. Additionally, according to the doctor after I returned to base, I was much more severly wounded then I previously thought. My strength that I was so proud of had been sharply reduced. Something to do with my bones-"

Bang!! The sound of the front door being shoved open startled the both of them as a young woman with long blonde hair that reached well past her waist walked into the house. She wore a soaked simple black dress and white sandals but even with something so plain, she could only be described as beautiful. Even Belle-mère who didn't care much for looks in general thought of her as the very definition of beauty.

The young woman closed the door behind her and made her way inside, her wet blonde hair swaying as she walked. There was confidence in every step, pride in the way she held herself, and dignity emanating from her very presence. This was what others saw on the surface, making them see a lady of class and elegance, someone who was almost unattainable to ordinary men. However, all Belle-mère saw when she gazed upon the woman's flawless visage was a young battle hungry vixen who was obsessed with everything cute and fluffy. Her name was Marshall D. Nalla, a young sister figure and resident of Cocoyasi Village.

"Hello, sorry to just barge in," Nalla said as she walked over to stand beside Belle-mère. "Its raining outside and I'm already soaked enough as it is. Didn't feel like just waiting for someone to come open it."

Mako, who had been immersed in Belle-mère's story up until now, leaned back in his seat, his bright blue eyes scanning the woman, memorizing every detail. Every curve and every freckle was analyzed and stored in his head without exception. This was something he always did when meeting someone new, taking the time to gather the appropriate information should he ever need it in the future.

The woman had long blonde hair that reached to the back of her knees, bright purple eyes, and smooth slightly tan skin. With accentuated curves and a pretty face, the woman would've easily been a model class beauty back in Mako's world. Needless to say, she didn't appear anywhere in the manga or anime of One Piece, at least from any of the issues he had read up to.

"Its fine. I'm glad I forgot to lock the door, otherwise you would've been stuck out there until I got up and opened it for you." Belle-mère smiled a little, looking up at the young woman from her position on the couch. "Where's Emily?"

Nalla tilted her head as she grabbed the bottom of her dress with the tips of her fingers. Mako quickly caught on to what she was about to do and quickly turned his head away as she pulled the dress up and over her head. After almost a minute of looking away, the youth was unable to stop his own curiosity as he slowly opened one eye.

Nalla had taken off her dress and had changed into dry clothes in the moments Mako had glanced away. She was now wearing a long white shirt that reached mid thigh and her wet hair was pulled back into an extremely long ponytail.

"Ahhh, I feel so much better," Nalla exclaimed as she smoothed down her shirt. "I don't like the feeling of wet clothes. As for Emily, she stayed at home to finish some things up around the house."

Belle-mère, the one who had handed the clothes to her, merely nodded. "Okay. How about next time though, you don't strip in front of others. You really need to pay attention to your surroundings."

For the first time since walking in, Nalla seemed to notice Mako's presence. She had already been inside for over two full minutes and hadn't once bothered to look or speak to him and at first he had wondered why that was. Now he knew the reason, this young woman had been way too excited to actually stop and read the situation or gaze at her surroundings. As Mako hadn't spoken or moved since her arrival, she probably overlooked him and went straight to conversing with Belle-mère.

Nalla looked genuinely surprised as she shifted her gaze from Belle-mère to the young wolf hybrid. Mako could feel her eyes on him as her purples hues moved from his face to the ears on his head and then onto the large the large fluffy tail flickering back and forth slowly behind him.

"This is Mako D. Carson," Belle-mère said as Nalla continued to stare. "He was being chased after by some fish-men earlier so I let him in. He's from Matchstick island. Mako, this is Marshall D. Nalla, a friend of mine."

Mako heard Belle-mère explain but only distantly as he stared back at Nalla, of whom seemed to be in some sort of trance, her eyes fixated on his wolf ears and tail. It wasn't noticeable at first because he had been preoccupied with other things, but this woman was giving off a dangerous scent. Danger bells were ringing in his head the longer she stared at him and his heightened instincts were yelling at him to move. This woman was a problem even greater then Belle-mère that didn't have anything to do with strength.

Mako, after staring at her for so long, began to move away every so slowly. The moment he twitched however, Nalla pounced forward onto the sofa. The young man didn't even have time to utter a sound as his head was shoved into the young womans twin peaks, her arms wrapping around his head.

"HE'S SO CUTE," Nalla squealed as she hugged Mako tightly. "Where did you find such a cutey Belle-mère?! You've been holding out on me!!" Her hands began to stroke Mako's wolf ears as she held him close.

"Ugh." Belle-mère shook her head as she watched Mako get smothered. She was partially amused by the young mans predicament while another part of her was slightly annoyed with Nalla for barging in the way she did. She hadn't even finished telling the second half of her story to Mako which was supposed to explain just why no one stood a chance against Arlong and why no one, herself included, bothered to fight back.

The main reason she had even wanted to tell him about her past in the first place was to put into perspective just how strong she was when she was younger and just how much her girls meant to her. She had hoped that if he realized just how strong Arlong was, it would deter him on his mission to defeat the leader of the pirates.

(("Kinda hard to tell him now though,")) Belle-mère thought as she watched Nalla happily holding Mako's head against her breasts. Her love for everything cute and fluffy had taken hold and it was highly likely she would kill the young man if she continued to suffocate him like she was currently doing. ((So how do I stop him from moving forward with his suicide plan?")).

Despite the fact that they had only met, Belle-mère actually liked the young wolf boy. He was trusting, telling his past without any concern for his own well-being, and he seemed kind though he wasn't exactly honest. If she could prevent him from being killed then she would take that route.

After careful internal debate, Belle-mère finally figured out what she wanted to do. Smiling to herself, the fuschia haired woman leaned forward as she watched Mako attempt to push himself away from Nalla's chest. "Hey Carson, how would you like to spar against Nalla?"